I am an university researcher and teacher specializing in how public policy is made and implemented in China, especially how different people and groups influence decisions, how policymakers respond to crisis events such as earthquakes, what causes policies to change, and what the policies actually say and do—for example, whether they are feasible, strict, and predictable.

Most of my research focuses on health and the environment. Health provides a particularly interesting window into policymaking and implementation in China, because it reveals how the state, experts, and the public interact under conditions of uncertainty and risk. My research topics in this area includes infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness, antibiotic resistance, health reform, live poultry sales, food safety, pandemic preparedness, and policy change after crises such as epidemic outbreaks and earthquakes. In the environmental field, my research focuses on soil pollution, environmental accidents, Sponge City design, urban gardening, and bicycling. I predominantly analyze national level policy, especially the process of lawmaking by China’s National People’s Congress, but I also conduct research on subnational and global policies.

I am based at Duke Kunshan University (DKU), a Chinese-American liberal arts college located near Shanghai, established in 2013 through a partnership between Duke University, Wuhan University, and Kunshan city. As an assistant professor (equivalent to lecturer in the UK or universitair docent in the Netherlands), I have experience teaching courses on policy analysis, policy processes, crisis management, plastic pollution, and global challenges such as climate change, AI, and pandemic prevention.

In addition, I co-lead the DKU Center for the Study of Contemporary China, which supports excellence in research on contemporary China by providing grants, organizing academic events, and training students by creating opportunities for skill and expertise development.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to pursue studies in several different disciplines and countries. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Cultures of China (2007) from Leiden University in the Netherlands; a Master of Science in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (2010) from the University of Manchester, Lund University, and Central European University (joint degree called MESPOM); and Ph.D. in Law (2019) from the University of Amsterdam.

During my PhD, I was a visiting researcher at the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) in Beijing and at Harvard Law School. Prior to coming to DKU, I taught comparative public administration, public policy, and crisis management at Mid-Sweden University.

Before academia, I was a high school teacher in Sweden and a fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (an American environmental non-profit organization) in Beijing.

Outside of work, I enjoy (trail)running, biking, hiking, walking, and kayaking.